Madeline
Ava Luxe (2007)

A very nice, spicy foody scent, almost like fruitcake or gingerbread with raisons, but there's an overall faintly plastic scent that really ruins it. This plastic scent is faint, but it never goes away. Either my sample is from a bad batch or there's something that needs attention in this mix. I will have to retry it, because the onset is really really lovely.

This opens with a huge burst of spices, predominantly clove, but also nutmeg & ginger. Over the first hour, the licorice note weaves in & out, before the scent becomes thicker, creamier & sweeter. At this point I begin to detect the milky/eggy/custard-like notes that produce the delicious aroma of that classic Yuletide tipple, Advocaat (known to our friends across the pond as eggnog). It dries down to a boozy vanilla five hours in, & lasts a good eleven hours before fading out.
Those who have difficulty with lactonic notes would probably hate this, but I find it utterly yummy, & I'm really looking forward to wearing it this Christmas.

The opening is the killer for me. It's reminiscent of over-spiced eggnog with everclear in it. It's mellowing as I write this, but still too harsh for a room spray, much less anything more personal. Some comfort scent :p
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coming back to this later...oranges balance clove/allspice nicely, milk, not so much. It's good to know. Makes me wonder how eggnog can smell so good, when all the components here, just don't.

It smells the greatest at Thanksgiving and Christmas time, although I wear it year round. Reminds me of Pumpkin spice in the spice isle of the grocery store with some milky notes added. I'm not too fond of the milky cream notes, just so they don't get too strong. I love this scent. I only got the small thing of it, but it lasts forever which is nice to have in a perfume to get a lot of mileage out of it.

Do you love spice? This is it for you.

Madeline smells great in the bottle, but on my skin turns plasticky and cold. The notes are intriguing, and except for the licorice are some of my favorites. So maybe it's the licorice that does the scent in for me? I don't know. I get a medicinal clove note on opening application, then plastic. Weird, because I suspect that on others, it's marvelous.

This sweet elixir is as comforting as any of Ava Luxe's milky vanillas, but the addition of spices brings it to another plane. To my admittedly blunt nose it has a heart of soft leather. Remarkable. Utterly cozy and delicious, I hope Serena will eventually make this part of her regular line.